Summer Rituals (#btbc16)

Summer is the best, but I just realized that my first day back is one month from today.  Boo! Anyway, here are my summer rituals.

Riding my horse

Five years ago today I went to River Run Farms with my friend Judy.  And ever since that day I’ve been at the barn all the time.  During the summer I try to ride at least twice a week but hopefully more than that.  Sometimes I ride in the arena, sometimes we hit the trails, sometimes we just do groundwork.  Some days it’s so dang hot, I just go out and groom and hang out with Copper for a while.  Whatever activity, I’m happy in the presence of horses.

Reading

This is my number one summer activity.  Last year I read 15-17 books, I think.  I read pretty indiscriminately, especially during the summer–in other words, if it’s good (and preferably cheap), I’ll read it.  This summer I’ve started with some mysteries (Mark Edwards and Rachel Abbott) and now I’ve moved onto some chick lit.  While we’re in Antigua we’ll sit on the beach for the better part of six days, during which time I read voraciously.  I’m so thankful for my husband who loves to just take naps on the beach and lets me read without complaining that I’m not listening to him.

Traveling / Going to Sandals

This ritual started the summer of 2013 when we got married at Sandals Negril. We loved it so much, we booked a trip while we were there for our 1st anniversary in St. Lucia.  While in St. Lucia, we booked a trip back to Jamaica but Ochos Rios this time.  For that trip we went during Thanksgiving because we were supposed to be going to Scotland. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but oh well.  While in Jamaica, we booked a trip to Antigua for this year’s anniversary.

Going to Michigan

Every summer I go to Michigan for 10-14 days to visit family.  I miss it so much and I love summers there, so I those two weeks are the days that I look forward to so much. While there I read more books (obviously), relax, visit my three siblings and parents, hopefully spend time on at least one lake, see a movie, get Stromboli from Little Caesars (because we don’t have it down here).  Oh and of course I have to go to Meijer so I can buy T-shirts.

This summer my rituals are a little different due to an adorable little puppy. It’s a bit harder to have a routine, but I’m starting to figure out how to juggle what I’m doing with taking care of the wee one.